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After what feels like a lifetime of waiting, a new Stranger Things chapter is finally here. No, it's not season 5 (we still don't have. a release date for that); we're talking about Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the live theater prequel for the Netflix scifi smash that makes its Broadway debut at the Marquis theater April 22. Fans are no doubt flooding the lottery lines now, probably not heeded by the fact that they won't actually be seeing the First Shadow as the writers originally intended it.

Yes, you read that right - shortly before The First Shadow made its global debut on London's West End, a chunk of the script was edited on the orders of the Stranger Things higher ups. Why? Well, as a recent Netflix documentary revealed, it's because the powers that be wanted to take a canon reveal that would have been made by the play and save it for streaming audiences watching season 5. Let us explain.

The story comes from the Netflix offering Behind the Curtain, which follows the cast and crew of First Shadow's West End production as they build up to the play's first official opening night. At about the 29-minute mark of the doc, we see an exchange between Kate Trefry, the primary writer of the play's book, and Stephen Daldry, who directed both the West End and Broadway iterations of the play. During their exchange, transcribed here, we learn of a reveal planned for the First Shadow, but reclaimed in the eleventh hour for the series. Read what they said (with the reveal bleeped out by Netflix) below:

Stephen Daldry: Why are we seeing a Demogorgon?

Kate Trefry: Okay, can I just stop you right now? I just got off the phone with the guys. And —

Daldry: It’s all changed.

Trefry: It’s just gonna be… Whatever we want it to be, it’s gonna be 80% less. We’re going to be able to do, like, 80% less. We’re going to be able to tell very little of the story of [bleeped out]. We’re going to be able to say that something happened, but we’re really not going to be able to say that much.

Daldry: Because…?

Trefry: Because they want to preserve the reveal for season 5. [Bleeped out].

Daldry: The reveal of [beeped out]?

Trefry: Yeah.

It's a frustrating peek into potential season 5 spoilers for Stranger Things fans; probably an even more frustrating switch-up for the folks actually working on the West End production. But while it offers absolutely no hints as to what the spoiler might be (remember, Netflix edited this doc themselves), we can assume it has something to do with the infamous Creel family, particularly Henry, as they are the play's main characters. Nevertheless, the exchange serves as an interesting window into the creative process of playing in the Hawkins sandbox.

And not for nothing; it proves that even Stranger Things has to wait on Stranger Things.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow is on Broadway now. Stranger Things season 5 is expected on Netflix later this year. 

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As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"